A Romance of Errors
by Anime Borat
Summary: A new teacher enters high school and Kaorin's feeling a little off and hilarity ensues. Is he here to take a certain someone away?
1. The New Teacher on the Block

**A Romance of Errors**

Disclaimer: Azumanga Daioh belongs to Kiyohiko Azuma and JC Staff. This is a story made by a fan. Kudos to my sister and **Elred Bluegreen** for helping me build up the foundations of this fic. Thanks to **Hollow 28** and **Miz-KTakase** for a few post-publishing corrections.

**Chapter 1: The New Teacher on the Block**

The school bell rung, signaling the start of the day. All the students went in or, if late, rushed to their classrooms. As a routine, everyone replaced their shoes and put on their slippers. The bell rang and all the students went to their respective classes. It would just another day for everyone, except for Miss Yukari's class. Something is coming up this morning which was talked about since last Friday. A new teacher will take over Yukari's homeroom and English class. Everyone wanted to find out.

Naturally, everyone's curiosity of the new teacher set the rumor mill on fire, and it seemed like everyone had their own idea as to exactly who it could be... some theories more plausible than others.

"No." Yomi replied, exasperated.

"But, Yomi, it's..." Tomo tried to convince her to listen to her wonderful theory.

"No," Yomi replied.

Tomo puffed out her cheeks indignantly at her friend's flat-toned denials. "Think about it, we know that he's gonna be short, stubby, and old. Of course he'll be a cultist fanatic!"

"Tomo," Yomi, the taller of the two, adjusted her glasses, more in annoyance than actually having to move them. Tomo could do this at times... get on her nerves so badly that all Yomi was capable of was sitting back and taking it. "First of all, we haven't _heard_ anything about him." Tomo opened her mouth to speak. "And Osaka, Kagura, and... whoever that girl was you were sitting with yesterday, are _not_ reliable sources."

"They are _perfectly_ reliable-!" Tomo retorted, before Yomi gestured in Osaka's direction.

Osaka was always a little... unique, to say the very least, and her eccentric habits often gave the illusion that she was dim-witted, stupid, and even insane. That mind, however, was her greatest strength, supplying her with a vivid imagination... that could easily be channeled into the strangest pursuits. Such as, right now, she was making her very best attempt to catch one of the dust specks in her eye, repeatedly poking her closed eyelids instead.

"You were saying?" Yomi asked dryly. "Wait until the teacher shows up before you put stock into anything _Osaka_ says." Tomo just shut up. For a few seconds...

She then asked, "What if he's fat... like you?" Yomi sizzled for a few seconds, and then exploded.

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!" She then chased the wildcat all around the classroom. As they did, Chiyo and Osaka were talking about the same thing.

"Osaka," Chiyo lightheartedly remind her air-headed friend, "I don't think he's a space alien."

"But you never know if he's human or something." She said, sounding like a kitty's meow trying to herald the end of the world and everyone who heard it sweat dropped. She went on, "So what's his specialty?"

"Do you mean his subject?" Chiyo asked slowly, "Or something else?"

"I don't know," Osaka airily replied. "Maybe it's his hair."

Chiyo sweat dropped, "What does that have to do with hair?" At the farther end of the classroom, Kaorin is fixated on the coolest girl of the class, and maybe of the entire school, Miss Sakaki. Kaorin had always worshiped her almost every day, gazing at her from the shadows and thinking about how 'cool' she is. She was everything most students hoped to be: tall, beautiful, smart, athletic and oh so cool. She hoped to approach her but she feels intimidated by her silent exterior. She seemed so... distant... so removed from other people. She imagined what it would like if they could be friends. And be more than friends... Then her musing stopped when two people entered the room. One of them is the principal, Dr. Yonehiko Ihihara , and the other is a good-looking young man.

"Good morning, class 2-A," announced the principal.

"Good morning, Dr. Ihihara," the entire class replied.

"Good morning, class," greeted the man cheerily with a sunny smile that caught the attention of most of the girls. "I am proud to introduce to you your new Social Studies and homeroom teacher, Satoru Yasunobu."

"I'm Satoru Yasunobu," greeted the new teacher, "and how may I be of service?" His voice sounded like crystal to most of the girls. He sounded a whole lot different than any teacher they would expect; and looks a lot different too.

"He had just graduated last spring and has applied for tenure here." the principal said. "I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time with you."

"Yeah, like we're grade school kids," Tomo said under her breath, smirking, "I wonder if he'll start with ABC." But most of the other girls have a different opinion. They studied the new teacher for a while. He is tall quite tall and slender, his eyes are narrow, sparkly and delicate, his face is beautifully sculpted and radiating a sunny aura. The girls were mesmerized by his appearance. They quiver like jelly on a hot car seat.

Osaka noticed that something was a bit odd.. For a few seconds, her mind was analyzing what it was until she came to her conclusion. She asked Chiyo, "Chiyo, is that a new student?"

Chiyo regarded her friend, "Oh no, he's our new homeroom teacher, Mr. Yasunobu." She noted.

The airhead then said, "Can I be a homeroom teacher, too?"

"Miss Osaka, he's not a student."

"Ooohhh... he's kinda young to be a teacher, isn't he?" Osaka wasn't the first person to think that thought. Chihiro was, like most of the other girls, staring at him with wonder.

"Just look at him," she suddenly pulled Kaorin to herself by the arms, "isn't he so handsome?"

Kaorin was a bit jolted by that. She didn't realize it until now. She looked at him and noted about how handsome he was.

"You're right, Chihiro," she replied, "he's quite good-looking." _But not as cool as Miss Sakaki_, she thought.

She asked her friend, "Is he a new student?"

"Student?" Chihiro said, "He's no student, he's our new homeroom teacher!"

"Huh?" Kaorin was perplexed. She couldn't believe it. The young boy standing in front of them is so young, yet he's a high school teacher? First they have Chiyo-Chan, ten years old and transferred to high school on the count of her excellent IQ. Does he have that kind of IQ as well? It raised a lot of questions for her.

"Please excuse me as I will attend to other matters," replied Dr. Ihihara. He stepped out and Yasunobu took the floor.

He began, "Let me tell you a little about myself. I am Satoru Yasunobu. I'm twenty years old and I've graduated from Kyoto University with a degree..." He gave brief description of his life.

Yomi was genuinely surprised by the new teacher. He looked like he should still be in college;he is twenty years old, but he looked eighteen. It's more surprising than Chiyo-Chan's first day at school here. She also felt rather strange around the teacher. She looked at him some more...

"Hey Yomi!" Tomo screamed at her ears.

"AHHH!" She was startled by her friend's antics. She snapped at her, "What the hell was that for?"

"Nothing really, Yomi," she replied with an annoyingly wide grin, "I'm just messing with you!"

"But did you have to shout like that-?" Yomi was about to give her the patented double chop.

"Hey, settle down," Mr. Yasunobu said to the girls, "it's my first day on the job and everybody's start to get a little worked out." He laughed somewhat nervously. Most of the girls just stared at him... with wide smiles. He sweat-dropped.

"Okay, we will begin our first lesson of the day," Yasunobu explained and discussed from the book. Yomi went to him listening attentively as always. Chihiro turned to Chiyo.

"Twenty years old? Wow, Chiyo, he's just like you! Except..." She swooned. "As handsome as he is smart..."

"Why are all of you acting like that? It's so strange..." The only comparable effect Chiyo could name was that with Mr. Kimura. All of the girls, universally, were revolted by _him_, so much as to jam the doorway at the very instant the bell rang, unlike the guys, who would flock to him and share their stories of romantic rejection. Here, it was the other way around, clearly...

"He's still a teacher, though. That doesn't mean anything to you?" She asked anxiously, not wanting to have some huge scandal take place.

"He's only a few years older than most of us!" The girl retorted, "Besides... well, I guess you might not understand. You're not quite of that age yet."

"Well... Chihiro?" Chiyo turned the other way, "Is this normal or something? I'm not understanding this at all..."

"Not now, Chiyo." Chihiro, who was furiously scribbling something in her notebook, almost snapped at Chiyo, but caught herself. Her feverish scrawling was to keep her from paying attention to how Mr. Yasunobu looked, which was amazing. "I'm busy here."

"Alright," she replied, turning back to her to the board to jot down notes.

It was lunch time at the cafeteria, everyone gathered to eat. The teacher was the talk of mess hall. Almost every student was talking about him. He was the most-talked-about person since Chiyo first came to school. The girls sat together on a table with their lunches.

"Wow," Yomi noted, "that Yasunobu guy's an instant celebrity." She was eating a piece of her pork cutlet.

"Yeah," Tomo said happily, "even more than Yukari or Kimura."

"At least he'd be a bit normal compared to them," Kagura said, "He does remind me of Chiyo but other than that, he'll probably be just an average teacher."

"Hope so," Yomi noted, "especially with all the attention he just got lately." She looked at the tables occupied with girls, whose eyes are on the new teacher who passed through the canteen. After a few minutes of walking he reached the teachers' lounge.

"You must be pretty lucky to be here at such a young age," Minamo noted as she ate, "this is probably the single most phenomenal moment since Chiyo Mihama entered school."

"The prodigy?" Yasunobu grinned broadly. "I'm flattered to be compared with her."

"From what I see, you were the same as her. Entering high school early, studying overseas... and I hope she'll come back to teach someday, too." Minamo laughed, slurping up some noodles. "Honestly, you picked the perfect classroom to teach. That means Yukari's going to be out of my hair until they find another classroom for her."

"Yukari... oh, Tanizaki. Right... she had an interesting record."

"Oh, I don't need a record. She's my friend. Most of the time."

"What do you mean?" He was puzzled.

"Let's just say that she hangs around me most of the time," She said plainly, "she's a bit off at times."

"Oh... really?" Not sure what to answer, he turned away from Nyamo. It turned out that he was now facing Yukari.

"I see that you're gonna have to move to a new classroom, Miss Yukari. I hope you don't take it too hard," he said to her.

Yukari didn't reply verbally and just leaned her head against her hand. She had a smile that reached all the way up to her ears and a gaze in her wide-open eyes that was rather... predatory.

"No...," she finally drooled, still not letting go of that stare, "not at all."

"Okay," he said, "I heard that you're quite eccentric. Is it true?"

"Depends... do you _like_ eccentric?" Yukari inquired, "'Cause I can go either way. Just ask Nyamo here..."

"Excuse me one second." Interrupting Yukari's increasingly suggestive tirade, Minamo pulled Yukari aside to teach her a few rules.

"Oh, what?" There was a devious grin on Yukari's face, "It makes a good story."

"A story's all it is because it's not true! You had fun with that rumor back in high school! What are you now, twenty-seven, or twelve?"

"Well, hey, it kept all the boys from calling you, didn't it? I was just doing you a fav-" Bad move. Reminding Kurosawa of that time in her life caused her to snap.

"THAT WAS NOT A FAVOR!" Yasunobu heard Minamo screaming, followed by a loud crash and the sounds of a life-or-death struggle.

"HEY! It was only a jo-" *Thud* "OWW!"

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Whoa, what're you doing with that coffee machi-AUUUGHH!"

While Yasunobu listened in horror, two other teachers passed behind him, remarking idly on the situation.

"Sounds like Kurosawa and Tanizaki are going at it again."

"Yeah, who's your money on this time?"

"I'd say Kurosawa. She's the PE teacher, after all. Besides, you haven't seen what she can do with the coffee machine."

"Hit her with it?"

"Worse."

Yasunobu felt that he wanted to intervene but seeing how hard they're fighting and the fact that he's a novice, he decided to go back to his seat.

"I would like to have a cup of coffee now," he said awkwardly, stretching his collar.

"Here you go, senpai," said a student who most probably didn't know that he was a teacher, absentmindedly gave him a cup of coffee, as if almost on cue.

"Um, thank you." He said gratefully, "I think I recognize you from this morning, Miss. What's your name?"

"It's Kasuga, but everyone calls me Osaka. Thanks for asking." Osaka smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, I saw that name on the roll call..." Yasunobu took a sip of the coffee, nodding. "Hm, not bad, Miss K... Osaka."

"It's my own special blend." Osaka kept smiling, with her even gaze staying level with Yasinubo's. She looked and sounded innocent enough, but... for some reason, he began to feel uneasy again.

"Special... blend?"

"Very special. It's a secret."

"I see..." Yasinubo looked down at the coffee again, his eyes widening. "Well, um, it's a little hot, so I'll wait for it to cool down a bit, and I've got to get going, to um, grade my attendance sheet, I mean, eh... check my attendance sheet. I'll see you!"

"Bye." Osaka waved slowly.

As she slowly walked away back to the canteen, Yasinubo turned around and saw the happy stares at the window of the lounge as what amounted to be dozens of high school girls. Most of them blushed and looked down when they noticed he was looking at them, others just kept taking in the sight. Some even waved at him endearingly. Deciding he'd had a strange enough day already, Yasinubo made quick his 'escape' from the room. _They weren't kidding when they said this school's weird_, he thought.

"Senpai..." Some of them dreamily whispered as they watched him walk out.

"Senpai?..." Some of the boys, curious with the large gathering of girls at the lounge, within earshot repeated the word, dumbfounded. Meanwhile, at another table, Kimura felt pretty unusual, not that anyone of his personality would feel normal in any way. He thought to himself, _I don't know why but this new guy's making things a bit... odd_.

Osaka, after trekking from the lounge, finally waddled back to her friends. She smiled spacey as she sat down with them.

"Hey Osaka," Yomi said, "don't tell me that you gave the new teacher your special coffee."

Osaka smiled even more and nodded.

"What's that 'special blend' of yours, Osaka?" Kagura asked.

"It's my special blend," Osaka slowly repeated, not minding Kagura's inquiry to the contents of her 'special' coffee.

"We know that," Yomi replied with her arms crossed, "what's in it?"

"It's a secret," Osaka replied as though she's talking to thin air. Then she let out a slight giggle.

Yomi finally said, "Don't ask her. She's hopeless."

At the faculty room, everyone talked to the new teacher. They were very impressed by his academic record and his meteoric rise to be a teacher. At the background, the two teachers looked on, tired from their resent spate. As Nyamo tended to her papers, she looked at Yukari, who hasn't packed her things yet. She rested her head on her hand upright, almost relaxed. The PE teacher ignored her and went back to her gear when Yukari spoke.

"Isn't the new guy so handsome?" Yukari said dreamily.

"Enough of your predatory rants, Yukari," Nyamo reminded her.

Yukari is a bit persistent. "Don't be such a killjoy, Nyamo," she went on, "you must have an opinion about him."

"Oh really..." Before she said anything else, she thought about what Yukari just said. It's quite... true. She blushed awkwardly ,"Yeah... I think he is."

Yukari smirked, "So you _do_ have a crush on him. What a surprise from the mature Minamo Kurosawa."

"No I don't!" Nyamo quickly denied, "How about you?"

"Oh me?" Yukari quipped, "Maybe you can teach how to tie."

"SHUT UP!" Nyamo retorted.

"Do what you want, failure in love~." Yukari taunted.

"SHUT UP, DANG IT!" Then the faculty room went loud with renewed fighting after their brief 'ceasefire' from the lounge.

Now it's homeroom. entered the classroom to tell more about himself. It was very silent with only hushed whispers from most of the girls who sat in eagerly, their eyes widened into a cute doll-like appearance. The boys are quite clueless.

"Wow, you went to school that young," one of the girls commented.

"Yes, it's true," he replied happily. "When I was told that I was gonna advance to high school at that age, it was quite a surprise for me." He laughed.

"Wow," Osaka said numbly, "just like Chiyo-chan." Everyone turned their eyes at the child prodigy.

Ever bashful, Chiyo blushed and looked down at her textbooks.

"Yes, a lot like Miss Mihama. Except I believe she may have had about a year's headstart on even me, right? I'll have to look again." Yasinubo laughed.

"Tell me again why you guys are so interested in Mr. Yasunobu?" Kaorin whispered. The audacity of her words nearly caused Chihiro to jump in shock, and she whipped her head around to glare at Kaorin.

"Are you kidding me? Have you not seen his face?" She shot back, "And he's only a few years older than me! I mean, us. But you get what I mean!"

"But he's a teacher? Don't they have rules or some-"

"REALITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!"

"Inoue-san? Is there a problem?"

"Oh! M-Mr. Yasunobu, no, no, there's nothing wrong at all..."

Yasunobu nodded his head. "Good..." He flipped through his binder attentively. "Ah, Miss Sakaki? Before I forget, would you come see me in my desk?"

At that moment, the hearts of almost every female in the room dropped to the ground. Was Miss Sakaki the standard by which they would have to be judged? Was Mr. Yasunobu won over by the most beautiful girl in the school? If this was the case, they'd already lost.

Kaorin's face went white with shock. It was the singular most dreadful thing to happen to her life since Kimura announced his liking for high-school girls. Now, someone else wants her. It was almost mortifying and it darkened her day.

He went back to his class, "And so, I'll be looking forward to spending the year with you. Remember, you've been in this high school longer than I've been teaching, and I'll be learning as I go..."

Tomo then raised her hand, "Question! Why'd you want to teach so much, anyway?"

Yasunobu was taken aback by it, "Hm... why indeed? Ah..."

"Well?" Tomo's eyes widened with anticipation.

For several seconds, he tried to find an answer for it. He finally said, "I... I guess I just don't know." He chuckled a bit.

Dumbfounded, she muttered, "What kind of answer is that?" It was a strange and rather unusual answer from him. That made everyone wonder.

"Wow..." Chiyo said, "that's a bit interesting."

"Well, at least it was honest," Yomi noted. Indeed it was and it was more welcome compared to Kimura's 'sincerity' for liking high school girls, which was all the more reassuring. But everyone barely noticed Tomo's question but they found his answer a bit comforting. Still, to many girls, it wasn't enough to comfort them of the shock that entered their ears earlier. Then the bell rang.

"Okay, class dismissed. Everyone on cleaning duty, please take out your assigned materials..." Everyone except the assigned cleaning detail slowly went out. Yomi, Sakaki, Kagura, Tomo, Chiyo and Osaka were arranging tables, dusting erasers, and sweeping floors. Yasinubo went to the bathroom. His request for Sakaki to stay still rang in their ears. Except, of course, Sakaki, who seemed unperturbed.

"Cleaning time, cleaning time," sang Chiyo cheerfully as swept the floor - and turned watchful at Osaka as she dusted the erasers out the window, fearing what things her friend might do. Meanwhile, the taller girls were talking about Yasinubo.

"Well, this is convenient," Tomo said dryly. "All of us, together, cleaning out the classroom. No one else, just our little group of friends." She looked around. "Am I the only person who thinks that's a li-"

"Can it, Tomo." Yomi snapped, jerking the broom in her hands along the ground and blowing her dust pile everywhere.

"Oh, what's your problem, anyway?" She began to push one of the desks to the side of the room.

"My problem's that Mr. Yasunobu is as blunt as certain other male teachers we know." Kagura interrupted, pushing one of the tables flush against the wall. "I mean, Sakaki, you were already the envy of the school before, but now? MAN, you're lucky."

"It's nothing like that." Sakaki replied quietly.

"Then what is it? Everyone saw through the 'see me after class' facade."

Sakaki looked down at her feet. "Except..."

"He's got it bad for you, Sakaki!"

"No he doesn't."

Tomo pushed further. "You know, I bet it's your..."

"Cut it out already!" Kagura stepped in on Sakaki's behalf. "It's obvious she doesn't feel comfortable about what you're saying! God, Tomo, you can be such a jerk sometimes."

"Oh really?" The wildcat continued to pursue her half-baked hunches, "Then tell me, why would he want her to stay?"

Chiyo, who overheard the conversation the entire time, couldn't help but intervene for her best friend. She walked up into the circle and said, "What are you guys talking about? Doesn't Miss Sakaki have a say in all of this?"

"You're right, Chiyo," Yomi agreed. She turned to Sakaki, "Sakaki, can you tell us why he called you to stay in after class?"

She lifted her a little and answered, "I need some help with my English lessons. I know he does Physics but he told me he can do some English lessons." Her answer to their question astounded everyone. "I never asked for any help from Miss Yukari because she might blurt out my grades in class."

"So you needed help, huh?" Yomi asked her again.

She nodded slowly.

"Or is it something more?" Tomo eyes went wide open, wanting to know more.

"How about you keep your mouth shut?" Yomi glared at her.

"Why is that? Maybe your disappointed that the new teacher didn't call you," The wildcat taunted.

"And why is that?" Yomi's nerves are now irritated.

"I don't know," she said leeringly, "... maybe because you're fat!" That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"SHUT UP!" Yomi snapped, raising her hand to strike. It did - and it missed.

"Nya, nya!" Tomo made a stupid face. "Can't catch me, can't catch me!"

"I'll kill you!" Yomi chased Tomo all around the classroom, the wildcat laughing loudly while the meganeko bellowed in rage.

"This will only end one way." Kagura remarked dryly, "Yomi's faster."

"I wish Tomo wouldn't provoke her all the time, though." Chiyo said.

"Well, this time, she had it coming to her, but I'm more worried about the room we were just working on cleaning."

"With any luck, Mr. Yasunubo will understand this..."

One of the desks flew across the room, with Tomo and two chairs following shortly afterward, landing right at the feet of the uninvolved girls. Chiyo's eyes balled out of her head, Kagura put her hand over her mouth in shock. Sakaki silently left the room.

"Hehe... you're getting stronger every time..." Tomo groaned, her lips barely moving, slurring her speech.

"Never piss me off," Yomi warned, sending an angry glare at Tomo. That wasn't necessary. The wildcat lied still on the floor, not moving much. Yomi surveyed the room with distaste, "What a mess we made?" She then turned angrily at Tomo, "Thanks to you!" Everyone else sweatdropped at the room's messy state.

"Ah!" Chiyo shouted, "We have to clean this room before he comes back!" Everyone snapped back to work, frantically trying to clean premises before Yasinubo arrives. Except for Tomo, who was knocked out of commission. As insurance, Yomi and Kagura prudently tied up the wild cat so she wouldn't make another fuss when she wakes up. They hurriedly swept the floor, dusted the erasers, shuffled furniture, etc.

The door slid open and in came the smiling teacher, "Sorry to keep you waiting, I was talking to..." He stopped short of his sentence to see the classroom spic and span. Almost as if it was brand new.

"Wow, guys, you did a great job," he commended the girls, who were panting and sweating heavily, looking in stark contrast to the now pristine condition of the classroom. And he noticed Tomo wriggling in her binds. "Why is Miss Takino tied up like that?"

"Eh..." Yomi explained, "to make a long story short, we have to restrain her for now since she makes a mess every now and then."

"I see..." He sweat-dropped. "Considering from what I've heard about her, it seems.. okay. Just a little excessive though."

As Yomi untied her, Tomo complained, "Excessive? You're letting her off even if she tied me up like that?"

"I'll just tell her not to next time," he explained to her.

"Not good enough! Make her apologize to me-"

"That's enough, Tomo," Yomi grunted as she covered her mouth and dragged her out of the classroom. The wildcat kept mumbling and struggling, trying to escape her grip but to no avail. As it was finished, everyone else turned their eyes to Yasunubo.

"We apologize for that, Mr. Yasunubo," Chiyo explained to him. "That happens to them sometimes."

"That's okay," he assured happily. "there's been a lot of weird stuff for me today."

Everyone said their goodbyes and left home except for Sakaki.

"Miss Sakaki," Yasunubo said, "Let's go study some English lessons. I'll get some us some cake from the canteen on the way."

Sakaki smiled softly and answered, "Thank you, Mr. Yasunubo."

"That's the least I could do," he replied cheerily, "after all, getting along with the students is one thing a new teacher should do." Both of them walked quietly along the now silent hallways.

* * *

A/N: This is a fresh take in making a teacher's character in Azumanga Daioh. I hope you'll like it. Please R&R to your pleasure. For any horror fic fans out there, try **Grimoire: The Lustbound Heart** and **For What It's Worth**.  
PS, thanks to some facts by **Ryououki** I've changed some details in in this chapter, especially with Yasunobu's name. From I was told the original name, _Yasinubo_ doesn't seem like a Japanese name because in the simple Japanese alphabet (Hiragana) there is no "si" character. The set where "si" would be has "Shi" instead. Likewise there is are no "ti", "tu", or "hu" they are "chi", "tsu", and "fu" respectively. So, basically, when translated to English you will never find "si", "ti", "tu", or "hu".


	2. He Stole My Love

Chapter 2:

**He Stole My Love**

"It's not true," Kaorin cried in despair as she contemplated the day's events. Already, class and cleaning duty has finished and the words of the new teacher continue to linger in her head. The request for her ever- beloved Miss Sakaki to stay had been bad for the fan girl.

As she sat in the canteen, alone and glumly sipping orange juice, her eyes spied two people getting in. And to her horror, it was Sakaki and Yasinubo. They were talking animatedly and moved up to the counter. As much as she wanted to believe that none of this is happening, her eyes and ears did not deceive her. She was mortified by it. They didn't look like a student and teacher. They looked more like... "No..." Kaorin whispered to herself. "What are they doing?" She slunk into the corner her seat as teacher and student lined up at the counter.

"Good afternoon," Yasunubo greeted the remaining staff.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Yasunubo," greeted the lady at the counter. "I heard you're the new teacher."

"Yeah, I am," he blushed a bit. "Um, I would like chocolate cake and some orange juice."

"Okay," she replied cheerily, "I'll see if there's any more around."

As the cafeteria lady ventured back into the kitchen Yasunubo turned to Sakaki. "Um..." he asked, "what would you like?"

Sakaki paused for a while. Then said, "Uh, thank you. I don't know... I usually don't buy sweets at the canteen. Maybe I'll go with chocolate cake and orange juice too."

"Okay," he said. "And I'm paying."

"That's nice of you, but no thanks. You don't have to be that nice."

"Well..." he said, "since I'm going to be teaching here, it'll be nice if I spend time to get to know my students. So you don't have to worry about that, Miss Sakaki." He smiled with his eyes closed.

The cafeteria lady returned with a plate of cake and a pack of juice. "Here's your order."

"Thanks. And would you mind adding another one for my student, Miss Sakaki?"

"Oh sure," she replied. "By the way, you're a little too young to be teacher. You look seventeen"

"Well, I was quite good in school. And I get that age thing a lot," he explained modestly.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said. "Have you met Chiyo Mihama? She's a grade school student who advanced to high school due to her above average grades."

"Yes, I did," he replied. "In fact, she's in my class."

"You're taking over Miss Yukari's class?"

"Yes, it's going to be a while before they get Yukari another class."

"That's what I heard. You know that Miss Yukari somewhat eccentric."

Recalling his own encounter with Miss Yukari during lunch time, he chuckled a bit. "I just met her this afternoon..." He remembered that smile Yukari had on her face that time; that made him shudder a bit.

"Well, just rub her the right way and you'll get along with her." She disappeared back into the kitchen. She then reappeared with another place of cake and tetra pack of juice. She said cheerily, "Enjoy your snacks."

They gave their thanks and he took the tray. Sakaki asked him, "You seem so young to be a teacher. Are you really that good in your class?"

"Well, I worked hard in back in college and made this my career choice, " Yasunubo replied evenly. It's his first day on the job and he explained a bit more about his college course. "Now should we do those English lessons?"

"Oh sure." Sakaki was instantly reminded of that. "Come, let's sit down over there." She motioned to a table in the middle. She then asked the lady for juice and cake. The lady gladly obliged and gave her order. Then they moved off to a table. Kaorin sat on a table on a far part of the canteen, watching them impassively.

"Let's begin shall we," he said to her as he commenced the lessons. She had problems with the types of sentences in English. The problem is that Yukari's not someone who likes to do confidential lessons for some students. She flipped open a book and pointed to him some problems.

Kaorin looked on as Sakaki and the new teacher sat together in one table. They were talking to each other at first in a polite manner, and then it got a little more casual. From what she could keep up with her ears, it was some English problems. In her mind, however, it transformed into something different - it almost looked like an intimate get-together.

Kaorin turned around to see two boys nearby sitting on a table a few dozen feet from Sakaki and Yasinubo. They were eating some snacks and doing their homework.

"Ah, man, Thanks for doing my stuff yesterday," said the first boy, one who had the unfortunate honor of having his bike stolen by Yukari on the first day of school. "I owe you lunch."

"Thanks, man," the second boy replied, who had locks of hair that made him resemble Minamo Kurosawa. They both look up to see Sakaki and Yasinubo sitting together, pouring over a textbook in English. The boys' table faced theirs although the teacher and student were not looking at their direction.

"Man, don't you feel that there's some sort of atmosphere going on..." The first boy regarded his friend. "Like some dating sim or something?"

"I don't get you," he replied to Bike-boy. "But seems things feel a little off since that new teacher got here." As they looked up without thinking, they saw Sakaki and Yasunobu in front of them. Oh boy. Kaorin bent her head a little closer to listen in.

"You're right, feels like some dating sim indeed," Long-locks noted as he saw the two seated together.

"Only it's a teacher to a student," Bike-boy said without letting go of that gaze.

"Instead of student to a teacher," added Long-locks, doing the same.

"I bet ten yen that he's trying to impress her," Bike-boy declared quietly.

"I bet zero yen that he's teaching her, Captain Obvious," Long-locks corrected.

Yasunobu pointed a finger on a page of a book. "Oh. Look here," the first boy said, "he's putting his finger at the text book."

"Yeah, it looks like an excuse to bend his head a little closer to her face," the second boy noted. Indeed, the faces of teacher and student were a little closer now.

As Sakaki was going over the the lessons presented by Yasunobu, nodding approvingly as she made good progress. "Looks like he's impressed," the second boy noted. "Maybe she's the girl he should work up after all."

"Girls like Sakaki are hard to charm," the second noted. "You can't read their minds." Hearing this horrified Kaorin in her seat, her face etched into something suggesting permanent shock.

As Sakaki continued her tutorial, her hand unknowingly nudged his arm. "Hey, buddy. Unless I'm dreaming... I see Sakaki touching his arm a bit," the first said. "I bet his pitch is working."

The second boy squinted his eyes a bit to check his friend's claim. "Nah, she's just a little distracted or something," he countered in skepticism. "I don't think that counts."

Sakaki unknowingly pushed her pen off the table. "I think that's it," the first boy pointed out, "I think that means she got the signal from him." Sakaki made a quick apology and stated that she'll pick up the pen. "And he's gonna answer that by picking it up."

"Really?" the second asked skeptically.

Sakaki was about to get up to pick up the pen but Yasunobu gestured her to sit down. "He did!" the two cried in unison, in surprise as the teacher got up, bent down and picked up the pen.

"See," the first boy declared. "Oldest trick in the book in dating sims."

The second gave his friend a look. He corrected, "That? You're wrong, man. The oldest trick in the dating sims book is when a guy returns the girl's handkerchief."

"What we saw is a variation of it," the boy defended.

"No, it doesn't count..." As the two debated, an apron-clad figure loomed in front of them, obscuring their view of the tall girl and teacher. The two boys looked up to see the cafeteria lady, who looked a little bored and annoyed. She asked, "Can I get you boys anything else?"

They paused a little before they answered.

"Milk tea," the first boy finally said.

"... Milk tea," the second boy said too.

Kaorin sat and took stock on what the boys were talking about. Is it true? Did Yasunobu got courted Sakaki and succeeded? THAT EASILY? If so, are her hopes of eventually having Sakaki dashed? Or is it the start of something? The possibilities were mind-numbingly endless. She can't think of the others. He looked at them again. She then left her seat, tiptoed to a table next totheirs, and looked at them.

"So that's what a compound sentence is like?" Sakaki said.

"Yes," he replied. "You can tell by..." He went on talking to her, of how some sentences are structured. Kaorin watched in horror as their talking grew lively, somehow they seem to get closer as they talk and...

Yasunubo patted Sakaki's shoulder as she successfully accomplished a little exercise he made for her. That did it.

"I can't take this anymore!" Kaorin shouted. "AHHHH!" She screamed and ran out of the room, startling everyone in the canteen, who turned heads at the girl running off. Kaorin disappeared into the hallway - to go back briefly, for her things, before running back to the way she went out.

Kaorin was running so fast that and she seemed to dodge people like she had some of sort of HUD to warn her. She didn't mind the odd stares she got from everyone.

"Hey! No running!" Nyamo shouted, trying to remind Kaorin not run.

"Hi Kaorin!" greeted Kimura with his smile.

"Get lost, weirdo!" Kaorin shrieked back at him. In just a short time, she was out of the school and finally stopped to catch her breath. She finally got hold of herself and got a drink from a vending machine. She took a drink and sat down sullenly. Today's events were like a splash of cold water on her body. First, a new teacher comes along. Second, he sweeps the feet of what seemed like almost every girl in school in an instant. Third, he chose Miss Sakaki and conveniently helped her out with her English lessons. This was too much!_ How could he do that? Why her? What does he want from her?_ she thought. She took a walk to the park and sat down, blowing a breath of unease. She felt dejected, pushed away by the uncaring hand of fate to the side while Sakaki was blessed with - the wrong person!

She wanted to cry but something snapped behind her. She looked around to see Tomo and Yomi running across the woods in the park, snapping fallen twigs.

"Can't catch me," Tomo yelled aloud, laughing like a child. "You need to exercise, Yomi."

"Shut up!" Yomi growled, with her face wearing a livid expression of anger with her teeth bare,d and her arms stretched out like pincers. "Thanks to you, I'm not able to eat at that cake buffet."

"Hey, I'm just doing you a favor," Tomo taunted again as she jumped over the fence. "You might eat the whole thing and still be hungry. You might even eat everyone."

She let out a shrill laugh and Yomi growled loudly, with rage, as she chased the wildcat all the way towards the setting sun.

"What was all that about?" Kaorin asked herself. She had no idea what this all about, other than more of Tomo fat jokes. She decided to go home as the sun is already dipping below the horizon.

Some twigs snapped suddenly behind her. Fearful, she quickly turned around to the source of the noise. Her eyes were dilated in fear as she looked at the figure, an ominous presence in front of her with the red sun in his back, casting a long shadow before him. Kaorin felt her legs shake as she faced one of the lowest kinds of people on earth: another pevert like Kimura.

The office worker was working through the park, looking around. He scolded himself, "Man. I knew I shouldn't be taking the shortcut. I'm now lost and late for dinner." He spotted Kaorin in front of him. "Oh hey, I'm kinda lost here," he asked good-naturedly, "can you tell me which way in the park is the shortest way out?"

Kaorin did not listen to what he had to say, her eyes squinted at the threatening figure wanting... to touch her.

"Uh... Mmiss?" He was wondering why Kaorin has that oddly freaked-out stare that seems to be looking at nothing. He didn't notice the change in Kaorin's aura, which went from sad and gloomy to red-hot angry.

Kaorin threw her foot into his groin - LIKE A BOSS!

_BOOM!_

"Argggghhh!" Screamed the guy as he was thrown into and onto his back with an over-dramatic slow-mo thud.

_CRASH!_

"That'll teach you to mess with me, groper!" Karoin snapped as she ran all the way home.

The man, curling down on the ground in pain, groaned, "Why does this keep happening to me?" He moaned in pain for the next half-hour. "I was just asking for directions."

She was finally back at her house, panting heavily from her run from the park.

She lied on the bed after eating dinner and homework. She was trying so hard to sleep but she couldn't get that image out of her mind. The two of them sitting on a table together... talking... That was too much for her too handle...

Eventually she finally got the sleep she needed and craved for so she can forget about, at least temporarily, about that afternoon.

Kaorin opened her eyes drowsily and rubbed the sleep out of them, getting up and yawning. Her eyes were greeted with a sight that beheld her eyes: she was lying done in a meadow full of flowers in full bloom, which released an explosion of bright colors; the ground carpeted with soft downy grass with an electric green color, set on a gently rolling hill. In the bright blue sky the sun was bright and sunny with fleecy white clouds. Butterflies flew around the place, their colors brilliantly filling the air with joy.

The entire place is paradise! She got on her feet instantly and looked all around her in wide-eyed wonder. _This place is so beautiful_, she thought. _If only I can stay here forever._

Then her eyes caught something on the top of the hill under the shade of its only tree. The silhouette was a tall slender figure with a long flowing mane being carried by the wind in a very scenic fashion. It stood magnificently like a statue.

Kaorin's eyes seemed glued to the figure on the tree. She thought to herself, _Could it be her?_ The tall figure turned around at her direction and looked at her. That was when their eyes meet. The moment is so overpowering, emotions pour forth, she struggled to maintain her composure, drinking in the beauty and awe that is Sakaki.

She locked eyes with Sakaki, her dreamy gaze mesmerizing her, beckoning her to come. Then she saw a soft smile on her face which radiated bliss, sparkling brilliantly throughout the meadow, giving her the aura of a fleeting, ethereal beauty, a goddess who descends once in every century.

Kaorin can't hold the torrent of feelings inside her. She must go to Miss Sakaki, now or never. In just a heartbeat, she ran excitedly across the grass to meet Sakaki with her arms wide open, wanting to embrace her. For some reason she seemed slow but that made it all the more romantic. The scene itself resemble like some cheesy drama show but she didn't care. It was her special moment between her and Miss Sakaki, her romantic fantasy come true.

Halfway through the grass on her way uphill Sakaki turned around, as if to look down at the other side of the hill. Kaorin saw this and quickened her lest Sakaki walks away. "Miss Sakaki!" she called out. "Wait!"

She panted as she went up the hill. Sakaki began to walk away from the shade of the tree. Kaorin sprinted as fast her feet can negotiate the ground. She had to catch up to her dream girl before she disappear again.

She finally made, breathing heavily to catch her breath. She looked up and Miss Sakaki. Her eyes went wide with joy when she saw her... Wait a minute...

She saw Sakaki and another figure some distance away. The sun was bright so she couldn't see the second figure that well. It just seemed to materialize out of nowhere. The clouds in the sky then moved, blocking the sun's light, making it less intense for Kaorin's eyes to see.

Her heart stopped a beat the moment the shadowy entity's face was revealed: it was Satoru Yasunubo.

_AAAAAHHHH!_ She screamed within herself as she beheld the stark reality standing in front of her. Sakaki and the teacher were looking into each other's eyes lovingly. If it was heavenly for Sakaki, it was definitely nightmarish for Kaorin. Sakaki and Yasunubo seemed to be magnetically attracted to each other, their eyes glistening with a vibrant luster that was seen only in romance movies.

But this was no romance movie. It was happening before her very eyes. After what seemed like a long wait the two of them walked out of the shade and out to the sunlight to a patch of ground full of flowers. The wind dramatically blew in and whipped her hair up.

"Miss Sakaki," Yasunubo said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"This place is my favorite spot," Sakaki replied. "I love going out here." She turned around and looked longingly down the hillside. "This hill, the grass, the sun. It all makes me happy."

Kaorin cautiously crept to the tree and hid behind; taking a careful wary peek from the trunk.

He turned around to look as well and placed his hand in her shoulder. "I like this place, too." He looked up to the sky. "Quite, peaceful, away from the world, and closer to nature." He looked around to gaze the beauty of the fields. "The air is so fresh here," he added. He turned to Sakaki and their eyes locked together... for brief moment.

They both blushed cherry red and looked the other way instantly. Then they hesitantly turned to each other again, more slowly. It was quite awkward for them and they didn't speak.

It was Sakaki who broked the silence. Embarrassed, she apologized, "Oh sorry... I was just..."

While trying to find the right words, Yasunubo said to her, "It's not that... You look cute that way..." He twiddled his fingers nervously.

Sakaki smiled warmly when he said that, her blush was rosy pink this time. At the tree, Kaorin felt like she was struck by lightning. _What...? He called her cute...?_ her mind croaked in horror. A chill crawled through her spine as she weighed the impact of the words he used. But that wasn't all she saw. She crept forward to a nearby rock down the rolling slope to get a better peek, pacing carefully so she doesn't scare them off with the sound of crunching grass.

She raised her head a little to spy on them; she was taken aback by the sight of them a little closer than a while ago. Eyes bulging open with dilated pupils, she quivered with horror, mouth gaping in utter disbelief as he took her hands together and brought her closer to him. She chortled a screeched as the two inched closer, their faces at an intimate distance which to Kaorin was too close to comfort. She went pale with shock as they started speaking.

"I have something to confess," Yasunubo admitted, this time the eyes have a gaze like he watched the sun dipped into the sea many times as he waited for her to come.

"What is it?" she asked softly despite knowing what the answer might be.

Before he could collect himself, he let out his confession, "Miss Sakaki... I love you..."

Kaorin let a sharp gasp, it seemed the whole world turned black as the words sent her through a downward spiral, feeling as though she been stabbed through the heart by his words; her eye were complete blanks, the anime equivalent of the thousand-yard stare. What unfolded before her was Sakaki throwing her arms around him, thrusting herself into his arms and burying her head in his chest, the couple locked sweetly within a loving embrace. Her mouth trembled like rusty hinge as she tried to say something, anything.

"By the way, how's Kaorin?" He asked Sakaki. That question popped Kaorin back to reality like a bubble.

"Huh?" she wondered why he asked, clearly that piqued her curiosity.

"She's fine," Sakaki replied softly, finally lifting her head from his chest. "She said she has meeting with the astronomy club." He patted her head affectionately, making Kaorin glower with anger, her eyes fired up in red. She wanted to tear him apart just for patting her head.

"Astronomy club? I think she'll be a good astronaut someday," he noted.

"What?" Kaorin asked, instantly forgetting her anger. Before she knew it, she's now inside a space suit. "What the hell?" she exclaimed as wondered how she got in one. But wasn't all. She looked up and she realized she's inside the corridor of a space station.

A long dark one.

She gulped as she switched on her flashlight, feeling very frightened to the core. The corridor is full of pipes and vents, has cobwebs and is dusty in most places, there was the hollow sound of air rushing through vents. She swung her flashlight to see a sign that was scratched on the metal wall:

SCOTT WAS HERE!

"Oh my God?" she squealed slowly. "How do I get outta here?" She doesn't even know what the graffiti meant.

As she turned her back to search another area, she heard the fast shuffling of feet behind her. She quickly swung the light to where the noise came from but saw... nothing. She quivered like jelly and slowly turned her back and continued her search for a way out when she heard steel grating crash behind.

She hesitated, fearing about being torn apart if she looked back. The crash was followed by another, louser crash which felt very heavy this time. She slowly turned around and looked down at the ground with her flashlight and shown from the feet up.

The thing in front of her were two skinny, chicken-like legs with talons. From what she saw up to the top of the creature it had dark skin. The body is virtually a skeleton, and its head is an elongated cylindrical shape.

It's none other than the Xenomorph from _Aliens_! WITH KIMURA'S FACE!

"Hi, Kaorin!" he greeted loudly, unintentionally baring his sharp in a creepy grin, laughing like a maniac afterwards.

"AAAARRRGGGHH!" She screamed to the top of her lungs.

Kaorin sat up from her bed and fell off with a thud. After a few seconds of gaining her composure, breathing deeply, she got and said to herself, "Oh my God... It was just dream... just - a - dream." But just to be sure, she looked around the her room, checked under the bed and inside the closet.

"Thank heavens it's a dream and I'm awake," Kaorin finally exclaimed with relief. She slumped back to her bed to take in about her dream.

She felt like she watched the bad ending of some sappy soap opera. Yasunubo's confession may be in her head yet it sounded so _real_. In fact, she thought, he's probably dreaming the same thing right now...

_What!_

She felt cheated."It's not fair," she said. "Why does he have take her and not me?" She just lay done in bed, can't get back to sleep but it doesn't matter anyway. It's 4:45 in her clock, the time when her mother would wake to make breakfast for everyone, the first thing when Kaorin starts her new day.

* * *

How's it hanging you, guys? After some delays and minor writer's block, here's the second chapter of **Romance of Errors**. Now Kaorin's feels what she fears the worst: a rival for the heart of the girl she loves. If you're wondering who's Scott, I won't tell you... unless you can tell me in the reviews. The answer comes at the next chapter.


	3. First Class With Yasunubo

**Chapter 3**

**First Class With Yasunubo**

A/N: Hey, guys. I'm sorry this took a long time for me to write. There's a lot of stuff happening lately including a visit from my grand parents, which was a blast. Here's the second chapter of _A Romance of Errors_. I'm also busy on my other projects.

* * *

Kaorin ate a large breakfast that morning. Spooning rice, egg omelet, nori, grilled salmon and natto beans in her plate in large quantities and then munching them vigorously, her mother had a look of bemused satisfaction. She was surprised her daughter would have such a large appetite all of a sudden.

"If you eat like that," she chuckled, "you won't have anything to bring to lunch."

Kaorin's head went up. Then it turned slowly to face her mother. That made her sweetdrop at looking Kaorin's food-stuffed face with that frozen, skeptical look in her eyes.

"Um... anything wrong, dear?" Kaorin's mother asked awkwardly.

Kaorin stared at her mother for a few minutes. She then faced away to chew her food for a while and turned back. "No, there's nothing wrong with me," she replied sweetly. "I just feel I have to keep up my strength." In her mind, spoke otherwise, _Well... there's this new teacher... he seems to to hitting on my crush... it doesn't feel like right..._

Her mother looked skeptical. "Kaorin, did something happen at school?"

Kaorin's eyes went wide open at the question. "What?"

"Come on, honey, I need to know if something's okay." Her mother, like any mother around the world, can be caring to a fault. Often times, they can read their children's body language and other subtle cues, although they're not always attentive to them.

"Um..." She twiddled her fingers. "We have a new teacher yesterday."

"Really?" she asked surprised. "That's nice." Then a look of concern appeared on her face. "What kind of teacher is he? I sure hope he's not like Kimura fellow."

She perked up her eyes. "No, of course not. Actually, he's just starting out. He's twenty years old."

Her mother smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful, Kaorin. I'm sure he's an agreeable person compared to a lecherous froty-something."

"Well, I think every girl in school is falling over for him."

"Oh my goodness. This teacher's must be quite a looker. Would you be one of those girls?" she playfully asked.

At that question Kaorin looked like rabbit caught in the headlights of a sports car. What kind of a question is that? She clearly has no fluffy liking for that new teacher. She answered hesitantly, "Um... not exactly. See... there's another girl in my class that really caught his attention."

"Another girl? Who might that be?"

She gulped. She did not want to say her beloved Miss Sakaki's name, not in front of her mother at least. "It's... Miss Sakaki. She's like the most popular girl at school."

"And you're disappointed that she and not you caught his eye? That's sad," her mother said sympathetically. "But it's alright. It's okay to have crushed, even if it is with teachers. It happens sometimes in high school."

Kaorin's face turned bland in disappointment. _Not really_, she thought in a deadpan, _it's the other way around... He's taking my Miss Sakaki away from me!_

After that conversation with her mother and a little more time preparing lunch, Kaorin was off to school. Like a bad aftertaste of a particularly bad snack, Kaorin could get rid of that image of Sakaki and Yasunubo together at the hilltop. Everything else in that dream she couldn't recall but not the sentimental "confession" scene.

Except maybe xenomorph Kimura. Kaorin shuddered as she thought of that creep assuming a disgusting alien form and laughing like a lunatic made her think if she should see therapy.

And she almost bumped into a lamppost and nearly fell on her back. She shook head clear in response. "I'm just overreacting. I'm sure there's nothing between the two of them... Right?" Then she almost forgot his first appearance at school and how he called beloved muse to stay after class, their student-teacher meeting at the canteen. She stood for a few minutes, paralyzed when thinking of the whole exchange between the two...

"Kaorin!"

Kaorin jumped to her feet. "Wha- Who was that!?"

"It's me, Chihiro," her friend replied. "What are you doing there standing like a scarecrow?"

"What- I just was, well, you see..." Kaorin tried to form a straight answer but failed. She sighed in defeat.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Kaorin shook her head. She then said. "Whatever it is, Kaorin, put it away. We'll be late for school." So the two friends hurried to school together.

* * *

Kaorin and Chihiro were going to their classroom. All around them, most of the girls grouped together in small knots, talking excitedly. The topic of their conversations was Yasunubo.

"My God," one squealed. "The new teacher look's so handsome."

"I know," another giddily replied. "It's like some dream come true."

"You're right," a third added excitedly. "It's almost like he's sent here for us! Something besides that creep Kimura."

The trio shuddered in dread thinking about the Classical Lit teacher who confessed his love for high-school girls. They stuck their tongues out in distaste with soured faces. "Ugh, I would never like that guy. The boys here practically worship him."

"I hope senpai teaches them a new lesson," the second grumpily added.

"Really? I doubt they'll learn how to be real gentlemen," the third concluded. "They'll never reach the standards set by Yasu-senpai, even if they tried."

"What kind of standards?" Osaka asked slowly. "It's not like we get to measure him. I mean, how'll any boys measure up to him when they always come up short?"

The trio stared at her Osaka, her logic affecting momentarily their ability to process her words and their meaning. If anything, most people think she's an idiot. It isn't always the case. Her understanding of the world is different from the others. In fact it's best summed up in the tagline of Discovery Channel's _Mythbusters_: "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

One of the girls, wanting to break the awkward silence, asked her haltingly, "Osaka... what do you think of Yasunubo-senpai?"

Osaka mulled over the question... In fifteen seconds. "I think the school's making some sort of experiment."

"What?"

"So they can make clones of Yasunubo with Chiyo-chan's brains to replace all the teachers in school."

"Huh..." They sweatdropped, realizing that Osaka only works in her own logic. She then went on her way, with her wide-eyed spacey look.

The two friends overheard that conversation and followed Osaka to the classroom. "Wow," Chihiro said, "to think that Yasu-senpai is the talk of the school."

"Senpai..." Kaorin asked, confused at the change of honorifics.

Chihiro sighed and went on, not minding Kaorin's question, "I mean it's like a one in a million moment. Girls would fight for something like this to come. A sweet, young teacher, a handsome youth coming down from the heavens."

"Chihrio, are you alright-"

And her friend sighed dramatically. "But alas, fate is never kind and compassionate. Like a capricious god it chooses who would be brought together in one heart from the beginning and sends passions high on the rest."

"Chihrio, are you listening to yourself-" Kaorin almost snapped.

"Everyone else is crestfallen as fate has revealed the two hearts meant to be one," she finally concluded. "But that's okay, those are among life's joys and sorrows which we must experience and treasure. If Sakaki and Yasunubo are meant to be, then at least I'll have hope for own soulmate-"

"Chihiro, knock it off!" Kaorin cried, baring her teeth.

Chihiro jumped in panic at Kaorin's reply. "Okay! Okay! Kaorin!" They both stopped. Kaorin calmed down to catch her breath.

"Kaorin, why are you so worked up over it?" she asked.

She then realized what she just did and blushed in embarrassment. "Um, I'm sorry..."

"Is it about Yasunubo?" she asked sympathetically. Kaorin nodded slowly. She patted her back. "So you like him? It's alright, Kaorin. We school girls have those little crushes that come our way. Sooner or later, we'll get over them and move on. And I don't think Yasunubo is really serious with Sakaki. It's just teachers getting to know their students after all."

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh," she assured her friend. "Don't worry, I'm sure some guy will like you."

_I don't want a guy_, Kaorin thought glumly. _I only want my Sakaki-san_.

* * *

The classroom was filling up with its assigned occupants. Chiyo took her seat right next to Osaka. "Morning, Osaka," she greeted.

"Hey there, Chiyo-chan," she replied, waving slowly. "Look's like we're gonna have our real first day with Yasunubo as our homeroom adviser."

"Wow, that's exciting, I'm really looking forward to it." And added with an air of melancholy, "It does feel different without Miss Yukari around."

"Hey, don't worry, Chiyo-chan," Osaka reassured. "They haven't fired her yet."

Chiyo's eyes popped open. "Don't say something like that, we're not even sure." The child genius sometimes found Yukari's behavior to be somewhat jarring, yet she too found the English teacher to be a whole lot of fun sometimes.

"I'm sure," Osaka replied. "I haven't heard the principal said 'You're fired' yet."

Chiyo's went blank at her reply. And then the airhead added, "Who knows. She might work for Playboy or Penthouse." That only gave the genius sweat drops on her head.

Yomi and Tomo arrived and took their seats. "Morning, Chiyo-chan," Yomi called out.

"Oh, good morning, Yomi," Chiyo replied.

"Oh, happy to see y'all," Tomo said boisterously.

"Good morning, Tomo," Osaka greeted, waving an oddly-wobbling arm. "You seem happy today."

Tomo grinned. "You're right, Osaka. This is gonna be our first day without Yukari at the helm."

"Yeah," Yomi said slyly, "you seem awfully excited Tomo. Especially with that first impression you made for him yesterday."

Tomo stood and snapped angrily, "Hey, it's your fault that you tied me to the chair."

"You turned the classroom into a wreck and we don't trust you to behave so we had to do something." Yomi crossed her arms firmly.

"Yeah, you're always uptight about everything," the wildcat complained, "why don't you try enjoy life a lot like me or Yukari."

Yomi kept quiet at the thought of imitating her best friend or their homeroom adviser, who was now being transferred to another class or a desk. The wisdom of such an action would inevitably ruin her life if she followed through.

"You know, if the school fires Miss Yukari, she'll work for Playboy or Penthouse," Osaka intruded thoughtfully. Yomi had sweatdrops and Tomo smiled deliriously with mixed mental images of Yukari working for such racy magazine pictorials. On one hand, Yukari had the looks and the body, they realized, to be a pinup . On the other hand, there's her attitude. And everything in between...

Yomi shuddered at the more explicit of the imagery in entering her head.

Tomo exclaimed, "Wow, Yukari does know how to _party_."

Osaka then asked, "What's a centerfold?"

Sakaki finally entered the classroom. She took her seat the by the window as usual. Chiyo skipped over to the tall girl. "Good morning, Miss Sakaki."

"Oh, hi Chiyo-chan," she replied with a soft smile.

"This is going to be our first day with Mr. Yasunubo. I'm excited." She frowned slightly. "Except he'll be replacing Miss Yukari today..."

Sakaki patted the little girl's shoulder. "Why are you sad about it, Chiyo-chan?"

"You know, Miss Yukari, while she does have her quirks, she's a rather unconventional teacher in a good way."

"Ah, I see," she replied in her usual understated manner. For all her faults, Yukari is a very good, if unorthodox, teacher. Every minute spent in any of her classes is rarely boring and more of a roller coaster ride with her leading the way.

"Oh," the genius chimed, "you were with Yasunubo-sensei yesterday, Miss Sakaki. What is he like?"

Sakaki then thought back of that afternoon. He was nice enough to help her with her English lessons and was polite, yet companionable. He even ordered snacks for her that day.

"Well, he's a really nice guy...," she replied quietly but stopped herself from adding about how he went out of his way to buy snacks for her. She felt a bit bad for him doing it. "He's quite okay. Not as outgoing as Yukari is but he seems like he can be exciting. It's only his first day today."

"Oh, that's great, Miss Sakaki, let's see and give him a chance," Chiyo said jubilantly.

Another group of girls watching Sakaki talking and decided to open up their own conversation. The topic: Sakaki and the new teacher.

"Miss Sakaki's so cool," one girl moaned in admiration and despair. "But now that Yasunubo-senpai's called her, she's amazing!"

"What else can you do about it?" another girl shrugged. "Sakaki's the coolest girl in school. All guys would really want to fight over her but when they go up front, they just can't say it. But you're right, catching the eyes of a teacher is such an achievement."

"And handsome new one at that," a third pointed out.

"It feels too good to be true," the first girl said. "It just feels like a love story."

That perked up the second girl's ears. "You're right, it's really like one. Like some romance anime or a movie."

"Oh my gosh, it's like the beginning sequence of one," the first girl squealed giddily.

"More like the first episode," the third girl noted. "Well, yesterday was the first episode. Today's start of episode two. But I think it's preposterous to think that it's love on first sight."

"I think they knew each other a bit a while back," the first girl suggested.

"If they did, they would have said each other's names, which is obviously not," the second pointed out. "He probably read her name out of list."

"And why did he asked her out yesterday?" the third girl asked.

"He's probably asking for her grades or something!" Kaorin asserted in an annoyed tone. She heard the whole conversation from her seat and with each suggestion about Sakaki and Yasunubo being on a relationship were getting on her nerves.

"Kaorin..." the first girl asked with hesitation, "are you sure?"

Calmer now but still annoyed somewhat, she replied, "Yes, I saw them in the cafeteria yesterday. He was helping her with her English lessons. What's the big deal?" She grumpily crossed her arms.

"Okay." Then the first girl asked. "Why were you there?"

That question took Kaorin aback. She her eyes bugged out of their sockets as she looked for a response. Then remembering what she did that, she replied, "I was taking a snack then."

And it was now silent. Kaorin felt satisfied that they did not asked her another question or anything.

It did not. "You sure? It doesn't sound like a coincidence."

"Why not?" Kaorin asked angrily.

"Are you jealous?" the second girl asked bluntly.

"Of course not!" Kaorin flared up. "It's just that we already have one male teacher of note, Mr. Kimura. I just don't want another one like him around."

"Really? Cause he doesn't look weird or act strange." The second girl looked at her.

"He looks nice too," first girl added.

"Y'all know that Kaorin could be right," a soft voice mewed ominously. The four girls spun around to see Osaka next to them. It's known that Osaka seems to drift around and appear in at the least unexpected moment. It usually gives her random appearance an eerie quality. "After all, Yasunubo may not be what he says he is," she added.

The third girl regained her sanity to ask Osaka, "Like what?"

"He could be a space alien," she replied slowly. All four girls had sweat drops. "Maybe he plans to take Chiyo-chan aboard his space ship and then use her smarts to expand his people's evil empire."

Kaorin and the girls gave Osaka odd looks. After a few seconds of silence, Osaka left them to their own device, seeming to waddle away like a duck. One of girls finally said something. "What the... heck?"

The door slid open and Yasunubo entered the classroom with his paperwork tucked under his arms. "Good morning, class," he greeted.

"Good morning, Yasunubo-senpai!" the class greeted, with the girls' eager voices drowning out their male classmates', who answered in _sensei_.

Well, almost.

Kaorin only managed a weak greeting, due to reluctance. The gang's voice were in the middle normal range so their greetings were drowned out as well.

"Wow," he exclaimed. "Everyone seems so pumped up for today. First things first, Yukari will still be teaching English so you don't have to worry on missing out on her classes. However, she won't be here for a day or two until she transfers to her new class."

A chorus of soft cheers rang out in the classroom. They've got reason to applaud her transfer.

In the course of a typical day's class, Yukari can go from sweet fun-loving teacher to an immature party girl to capricious taskmaster, often being in her sights in a bad moment is a sure way to earn her wrath.

"Well, at least Yukari won't chew us out now," one of the boys said happily.

"Oh yeah, baby," Tomo exclaimed. "I wonder what our first day with our new teacher is gonna be like? Stuffy and boring or is it gonna be like that Billy Mays guy in the commercials?"

"Hey, Tomo," Yomi said. "Lighten up. This is he's first day."

The teacher decided to began their lesson in Social Studies. "Okay, turn to page thirty and let's read about Kamakura Period Japan..."

Kaorin sat there in her seat, silent and in disbelief, without even listening to the discussion. Her eyes were affixed to the young man in front of her.

The one person who swayed Sakaki off her feet.

Satoru Yasunobo.

"Now, class, tell me let's discuss about the historical moments in the Kamaukura period and their causes..."

"How about we discuss more about yourself?" a familiar voice called out. The class shuddered at hearing it.

"Yes, of course, Miss... " the new teacher answered, and turned around to the direction of the speaker. "Miss Tanizaki!?" he cried in shock, dropping his papers.

Peering through the doorway was Yukari Tanizaki, with her face affixed on a seemingly permanent Cheshire grin. The class released sweatdrops in driblets as they watched another episode involving the English teacher's unconventional behavior.

"Social studies, huh?" Yukari said excitedly. "I never tried that before."

"Ah... Miss Tanizaki," he said awkwardly. "Aren't you suppose to wait for tomorrow before you meet your new class?"

"Oh, don't worry," she said happily. "I've got a lot of free time in my hands while waiting for that Itou guy to retire, so the first thing that comes to my mind is to try and pay the class a little visit."

"But I've got a class to teach," he reminded her.

"Oh, don't worry. It won't take long. It's only a little 'get to know you'. How about, since it's social studies class, let's get social~."

Yukari jumped in like a rabbit and stood in front of the class. "Okay, class," she announced, "ask your new teacher a question."

"Hey, Yukari-chan!" Tomo shouted, raising her hand.

"Yes, Tomo?" she asked excitedly.

"I asked him why he became a high school teacher and he said he don't know." She put on a wide cheesy grin and Yomi groaned in annoyance. Yasunubo sweat-dropped.

Yukari looked at Tomo with a crossed expression in the wildcat's statement. She promptly threw at piece of choke that knocked her by the forehead back to her seat with a thud. With that taken cared off, she asked cheerily again, "Okay, any questions? Not dumb statements like Tomo-chan's here."

Osaka raised a wobbly hand. The English teacher let out a tired sigh, knowing it's from the resident airhead. "Yes, Osaka."

Then the airhead began. She said in her usual soft-spoken manner, "Miss Yukari, if you're here in the middle of class, you must have some sort of reason to be with us."

Yukari reluctantly agreed. "Uh-huh."

"Even if the school says you come only back tomorrow."

"Uh-huh..." What the hell is that girl at, Yukari wondered.

"And that you're in another class."

"Yes..."

"Are you jealous that were Yasunubo-sempai's class now?" Most of the girls in class blushed pink.

Yukari blinked her eyes rapidly. _What the hell?_ Yukari asked herself. "Sempai?"

No one raised a word on this new development or anything for that matter as they tried to look for something to keep the conversation going. Until Yomi spoke up. "Miss Yukari. The girls in the school took to calling him sempai since yesterday."

"Ah... right," Yukari said, finally having a nugget of wisdom about the Sempai thing.

"Miss Yukari?" Osaka asked raising her hand. "What's a center-"

"Thank you, Osaka!" Yukari loudly cut Osaka off, knowing from experience about where the airhead's conversations go. "Okay, next question anyone, and it better be about-"

"Yukari!" Nyamo cried from the door.

"Oh man," Yukari whined. She made an about face with her cheery face. "Hi, Nyamo."

"Yukari, you're supposed to be at home," Nyamo said with her arms crossed. "Your new class is tomorrow."

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with I'm doing here," the English teacher said coyly, chuckling. "We're just trying to know each other a little more. You know, me, the class and Mr. Yasunubo here."

"You're interrupting his class," Nyamo said bluntly. "Knock it off."

"Come on Nyamo," she pleaded. "I've got a lot of time in my hands today. It's boring at home so please let me have little fun here."

"No." She went in and grabbed Yukari by hand. "You're leaving." She pulled her out but Yukari refused to leave trying to pull away in the opposite direction. Nyamo tugger hard with both hands as she pulled her colleague out the door.

"Come on, Nyamo, please!" Yukari cried.

"Yukari, you're going outta here, whether you like it or not!" the PE teacher grunted as she tugged the wildly resisting Yukari out of the classroom. The class can still hear the former homeroom adviser's yelling as she was dragged through the hallway.

Yukari's yelling and pleading has faded away further and further from the class. As soon as silence returned, Yasunobu cleared his throat to get his students' attention. So much time is wasted already and he needs to get the whole lesson moving.

"Okay, class, as I was saying, let's discuss the important historical events of the Kamakura period and their causes."Class resumed as normal, asking questions about Minamoto no Yoritomo, the emergence of the samurai, and the beginning of feudalism in Japan. All through it all, Kaorin felt slightly depressed, not focusing on the lessons but thinking of him Yasunubo dressed on samurai armor, impressing Lady Sakaki while she watched from the edge of the woods. Such a melancholy thought indeed.

* * *

The class ended with him giving assignments. Their next subject, PE.

Everyone marched for the locker rooms and change into PE attire. After that, they assembled at the yard to try out some softball.

At the shrill of her whistle, the game started.

Sakaki pitched her ball at Kagura. The ball sped like comet until Kagura swung her bat and sent to the air.

"Go get it!" Yomi cried.

"Oh boy!" Tomo shouted. She ran across the field with her baseball glove. "I got it, I got it, I got it!" The wildcat followed the ball's path into the trees fringing the edges of the yard.

The ball dove slowly down to the ground as Tomo followed to catch it. She spied something in the trees that made. She slowed down into a walk as she looked at it. The ball landed on the soft dirt next to her. She walked under one of the trees to investigate... and lo and behold.

Miss Yukari sitting in the branches looking through a pair of binoculars.

_Oh boy!_ she thought. _Miss Yukari on a tree_. A huge dumb grin on her face formed up with wide open eyes as her head began considering the options. On one hand, she could ask Yukari about she's doing up there.

Or she could chose the other one: surprising her. For Tomo, nothing is sweeter than giving her anyone a good shock. She chose the latter . So she walked up to the tree and...

Yukari had her sights on a window a shrill came from below. "Hey, Miss Yukari!" Tomo called "What'cha doin'!" The English teacher jumped up in response, dropping her binoculars and almost falling down from the tree. She struggled to keep her balance on the branches as she looked down.

"What the hell's your problem, brat?" the English teacher screamed.

"What are you doing up there?" she asked, still grinning. "You're not spying on us, are you?"

"What I'm doing here is none of your business," Yukari retorted. "Now get your ass back and-"

"Takino, what's going on?" Nyamo called out as she and the others jogged to the trees. "What you're doing there..." She looked and saw her colleague up in the trees. "Yukari!"

Oh no the jig is up for the English teacher. The only thing she can was smile in embarrassment. "Oh, hi Nyamo. Top of the morning today."

Minamo Kurosawa wasn't pleased. She knew that she interrupted social studies class a while ago but this was the most bizarre behavior displayed by Yukari by far! She crossed her arms with veins popping on her forehead. "Yukari, I just told you to leave and your still here."

"Miss Yukari's spying on us," Tomo added unhelpfully.

Nyamo facepalmed in exasperation. She then turned to her students. "Back to the field, everyone," she ordered. With a flurry of murmurs her students left her and Yukari alone.

She spun around and cried loudly, "Yukari, get down from here."

* * *

Look's like I'm back in action. Damn writer's block. Here's the third chapter of _A Romance of Errors_. For those who don't know about the _Scott was here_ sign in the second chapter, it's a reference to Ridley Scott, the brains behind the _Aliens_ franchise.


End file.
